Guild Wars 2

So. Here I am wondering what the purpose of stacking certain stats, using particular gear and how they affect PvE & PvP.

First of all, I’m not too sure how stacking Toughness and/or Vitality would have in situation aside from increasing survivability. Reason I ask this question is simply based on the factor that the “Trinity”(Tank, Healer, DPS – for the lack of a better description) grouping isn’t in this game. You play how you want to play, though certain particular ways could be a bit more bountiful than say some others.

Thing is, I see that stacking defensive stats seems rather… irrelevant. More so for the fact that you come across generally two major stats in the gear. Not always the case, but generally speaking. So if you were to build it in that fashion, what would be the purpose if you’re not a Tank? Taking hits, maintaining aggro and being the shield for your party or group. This pertaining to PvE of course.

Another factor, is simply the Healing Power stat. I understand how it can affect your own personal healing spells, but what about that of others and such? The rezzing process(the amount per tick), the part where you help a downed ally, etc. Is there something that allows you to be more of a support or something along those lines.

Last part to this is the gear. Armor and Toughness add to damage reduction. I understand that shields allow for skills that allow you to block, do damage, or apply a status effect, but how does one utilize the more defensively. I always see Guardians and Warriors using two-handed swords and not so much of one-handed weapons and shields. Now I understand that it’s for damage purposes to use two-handed weapons, but I don’t understand why a sword and shield couldn’t be more prevalent for being a defensive powerhouse. Adding more to damage reduction and blocking and such.

Again, all I’m trying to do is understand the gear choices and stat choices to make one either more of an asset in PvP and PvE altogether. For future references, I play a thief and a Mesmer at the current state.

NismoAK

Thing is, I see that stacking defensive stats seems rather… irrelevant. More so for the fact that you come across generally two major stats in the gear. Not always the case, but generally speaking. So if you were to build it in that fashion, what would be the purpose if you’re not a Tank? Taking hits, maintaining aggro and being the shield for your party or group. This pertaining to PvE of course.

You are still thinking in the traditional sense and trying to apply stats to a trinity setup. Those are defensive stats, that is because everyone in this game at some point has to act defensively. Stacking defense on a WoW mage might be pointless, but stacking toughness on a elementalist might be necessary if you find yourself taking a lot of damage. Everyone is their own tank, their own healer and of course a dps. You can support other people and people can support you defensively or with heals, but you are still responsible for your own heals, defense and dps.

NismoAK

Last part to this is the gear. Armor and Toughness add to damage reduction. I understand that shields allow for skills that allow you to block, do damage, or apply a status effect, but how does one utilize the more defensively. I always see Guardians and Warriors using two-handed swords and not so much of one-handed weapons and shields. Now I understand that it’s for damage purposes to use two-handed weapons, but I don’t understand why a sword and shield couldn’t be more prevalent for being a defensive powerhouse. Adding more to damage reduction and blocking and such.

It depends on the situation, it is not always necessary to run around with a shield. Even on boss fights, it might not be necessary. They may have built their traits up for defense instead, they may have defensive skills, or they might have their defensive weapons on a weapon swap.

On my warrior i use a mace in mainhand and sword in offhand for my defense swap. The mace has a block that is on a short cooldown, and the sword also has a block on a short cooldown. I use a sword in my OH instead of a shield because the sword block has half the cooldown of the shield block.